Orlando Magic Fall Short in Milwaukee

The Orlando Magic fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 104-100 Tuesday night in what turned out to be a surprisingly entertaining game between two of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams. The game was close throughout, neither team gaining much of an advantage. Missed free throws and missed opportunities at the rim would prove too costly for the Magic, as the Bucks slipped away with the win.

The Magic were led in scoring by Arron Afflalo with 21 points. Nik Vucevic contributed 19 points and 9 rebounds just missing a Vucci double. E’twan Moore was huge off the bench throwing in 17 points as the bench’s lone contributor.

The Bucks were led in scoring by Caron Butler with 21 points. Orlando had a tough time staying in front of Milwaukee’s guards tonight. Brandon Knight chipped in 18, and South Dakota State Jackrabbit Nate Wolters added 15. This kind of performance by Wolters surely will cause a rush at the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, with kids clamoring to buy Nate’s jersey.

As I mentioned earlier, the game was close throughout, a lot of sloppy play by both teams, as you might expect coming off the All Star break. Orlando squandered 15 turnovers tonight, and were out rebounded by 6. This was a tough game to figure out exactly what went wrong, and why the Magic couldn’t get over the hump against a team they clearly should beat, even on the road, just by watching it. The stat sheet tells a different tale.

Orlando shot 9-16 at the charity stripe tonight. Milwaukee shot 22-30. There’s your ballgame. The Magic also missed what seemed to be a handful of point blank looks at the rim tonight on putbacks and layups. A few more made free throws, any contribution from the bench, and a little better defense against the Bucks penetration and this recap would have a much different feel.

The Magic play the second night of a back to back tomorrow night against the Cavaliers. Tip is at 7:10

Matt Jensen is new to the MBO team and a proud contributing writer. He operates as MBO’s Sr. Sioux Falls Correspondent. Follow him on Twitter here